Accurately estimating the size of a testing project can be a difficult task. An inability to accurately estimate testing project size can result in significant time and cost overruns during software project testing. These problems are multiplied when trying to estimate the size of a testing project from scratch, that is, when the entity doing the testing is different than the entity that developed the software project initially. The ability to accurately estimate the size of, and thus the time required for, a testing project can be essential to the project's success.
There are a number of solutions for estimating software size with regards to testing. For example, function points can be used to measure the size of a software application, with the size then directly correlated with software testing time. However, testing requirements depend on features not adequately captured by looking at size. Such methodologies can be ineffective in accurately sizing software package implementation projects.
Sizing a software package implementation project can also be difficult due to the wide variety of activities involved. For example, implementing a software package can involve activities such as discovery, gap analysis, installation, configuration, testing, training, and deployment.
Specifically with software testing in mind, testing projects often estimate the size of the project in terms of number of test cases. The test cases are then divided into Simple, Medium, and Complex (SMC) test cases. The effort associated with each type is multiplied with the number of each and a buffer is added to arrive at the total testing project effort size. However, the number of test cases is not be a good indicator of the size of the project. Further, each project may have a varying definition of which test cases fall into each of the three categories. Moreover, the average amount of time required for each of the three cases is a subjective number that is often decided by individual project managers assigning numbers based on past experience.